Profinite completions of Burnside-type quotients of surface groups (Q1650158)

``Using quantum representations of mapping class groups of surfaces, we prove that profinite completions of Burnside-type surface group quotients are not virtually prosolvable, in general. Further, we construct infinitely many finite simple characteristic quotients of surface groups.'' For a subset \(M\) of the fundamental group \(\pi_g\) of a closed surface \(S_g\) of genus \(g\), the Burnside-type group \(B(\pi_g, n, M)\) is defined as the quotient of \(\pi_g\) by the characteristic subgroup generated by all \(n\)-th powers of elements in \(M\). ``We are concerned in this paper with how large the profinite completion of \(B(\pi_g, n, M)\) could be''. The main result of the paper states that, given a large enough prime \(p\), for every \(m\) there exists some \(d\) such that the profinite completion of \(B(\pi_g, dp, M)\) is not virtually prosolvable, if \(M\) is contained in the set of homotopy classes of closed curves with at most \(m\) self-intersections on the surface \(S_g\). As a consequence of the proof, for each \(g \geq 2\) there exist infinitely many finite simple \textit{characteristic} quotients of \(\pi_g\) (i.e., such that the kernel of the corresponding surjection onto a finite simple group is a characteristic subgroup of \(\pi_g\)); this answers a question of \textit{A. Lubotzky} [in: Geometry, rigidity, and group actions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 609--643 (2011; Zbl 1266.20045)] (where, as in the final section of the present paper, also the corresponding situation for free groups is discussed).